1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to security systems for use with an automated garage door; and, more particularly to a garage door security apparatus and method for remotely determining a predetermined position of the garage door and providing selective deactivation of the automated garage door system to prevent its operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Automated doors, including automated security doors and, specifically, automated garage doors, are familiar and convenient. These types of doors utilize a motorized mechanism which automatically opens and/or closes the door. The mechanism can be actuated either remotely by means of a radio receiver system or conventionally by means of a switch. Overhead garage doors typically roll on tracks, reversibly, from a closed vertical position to an open, overhead, horizontal position. They also have the ability to be left ajar in various positions to allow ingress and egress of pets, children, and the like.
Occasionally, these automated doors are left ajar or open, whether intentionally or accidently. In hot weather, automatic doors may be purposely left ajar to facilitate cooling of a building""s interior. Children also are prone to opening these doors without closing them. These situations are especially problematic with garage doors because an open garage door not only subjects the contents of the garage to theft but, in many homes or buildings, the garage also permits unrestricted access to the interior of the house or building. A door left even only slightly ajar represents a breach of security, since an intruder merely can crawl through the opening. Further, automated doors equipped with radio frequency activated openers occasionally are subject to activation by stray signals. Many TV remote controls and other wireless controls can activate an automated system and inadvertently open an automated door.
These possible breaches of security have been recognized as a problem, and the prior art is replete with garage door security apparatuses of various types, as illustrated and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,464,651 and 4,433,274. U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,166 sets forth a door safety system. There also have been several proposals for closing open garage doors, such as the apparatuses and systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,035,702; 4,463,292; and 5,510,686. However, there are several disadvantages present in the prior art, one of which is that the door can start to close without warning. Thus, if one wanted to leave the door open during the day, they would have to deactivate the automated closing system and then remember to reactivate the system at a later time. Another problem associated with these systems is that they only function when the door is in its full open position. If the door is left ajar for ventilation during the summer, these systems cannot automatically close the door. Thus, if an owner forgets to close the door at the end of the day, the door would remain open all night. This would provide an intruder the opportunity to slip under the door and either take items from the garage and any unlocked car parked inside or, worse still, gain entry to the house or building attached to the garage.
My prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,257, addressed these issues, but the apparatus disclosed in that patent only had the capacity to signal that the door was in other than a fully closed position. Additionally, the device of the earlier patent required a hard wired system. A control panel inside the house had a first switch, to effect selective actuation of a garage door opener motor, and a second on/off switch arranged to effect selective locking engagement and disengagement of the system. An indicator light was arranged to indicate the separation of a garage door from a garage door framework, and an abutment switch was arranged for engagement with a vehicular windshield for actuation of the garage door motor.
There continues to be a need for an improved garage door security apparatus which provides convenience, ease of use, and effectiveness in a manner that has not been satisfactorily addressed by the prior art. It therefore would be advantageous to have a programmable system capable of remotely signaling that the door is not in a predetermined position, no matter the degree to which the door is opened, or, in the alternative, capable of remotely indicating that the door is closed when it should be either open or ajar.
An improved, programmable security device has now been discovered that senses the condition or status of an automated door and remotely transmits a signal when the door is sensed to be out of a predetermined position, which then allows the operator to move the door to the desired position.
In a broad aspect, the security system of the instant invention comprises an automated door having a sensor device for determining the door""s position in communication with a signal generating device for generating a signal and a programable warning device for indicating that the door is in other than a predetermined position. The automated door has a means for automatically opening and/or closing the door that is commercially available. The warning device may be programmed to indicate, for example, when the door is in a position other than in a predetermined position or, alternatively, when the door is in the predetermined position, such that a warning signal is produced when the door is in a position other than a desired position, as appropriate.
In an exemplary embodiment, a single unit coupled to the door comprises both the sensor device and the signal generating device. In such embodiments, the sensor device transmits signals to the remotely located warning device by means of radio frequency (RF) or by any other wireless means for transmitting signals as made available by technological advances in wireless systems and as practiced by those skilled in the relevant art. In this manner the warning device need not be hard wired to the sensor, allowing broad application in the retrofit market. In a further embodiment, the warning device is a visual indicator, such as, for example, an indicator light which is illuminated when the door is out of position, such as when the door is in other than in a closed position. Alternatively, the indicator light may flash intermittently when the door is in other than a closed position, or according to any other scheme.
In another aspect, a security system is capable of remote, selective deactivation of the automated garage door opening system, for example, cutting power to the system. In accordance with this aspect, a first switch remotely and selectively actuates the motor which powers the automated door to either open or close the door; and a second, remotely actuated switch effects selective interruption of the electrical power to the door motor to effectively lock (or unlock) the door by rendering the motor incapable (or capable) of responding to the appropriate RF signal transmission, which may be produced by the warning device, by a user, or by any other source. In accordance with various aspects of this embodiment, the second switch is an RF switch that may be inserted into an electrical outlet. The electric door motor is then plugged into the RF switch such that the second switch suitably enables or disables electrical power to the door motor in response to an RF signal.
In another embodiment, an abutment switch is capable of engaging with a vehicular windshield and thereby actuating the garage door motor to close the garage door when a vehicle is sufficiently inside the garage.
In one embodiment, the signaling sensor device is placed so that it will emit a signal when the door is closed. In another embodiment, the sensor is placed to emit a signal when the door is open. In a further embodiment, the sensor is placed to emit a signal when the door is partially open or ajar.
In a further embodiment, the signal generating device employs a transceiver to transmit the signal to the warning device. In one embodiment, the transceiver is battery powered and employs a timer which enables the transceiver to send a signal to the warning device for a predetermined amount of time so that battery life for the sensor device may be conserved. In an alternative embodiment, the warning device may be configured to transmit a signal back to the transceiver on the sensor device to indicate that the indicator on the warning device has been acknowledged and that the sensor device""s transceiver can cease transmission of the warning signal. This acknowledgment signal may be in response to an operator moving the door back to the predetermined position, a separate signal from the warning device, or any other stimulus.
In a further exemplary embodiment, the sensor device comprises a xe2x80x9cmercury type switchxe2x80x9d that uses conductive liquid flow to open and close a circuit that produces an electrical signal indicative of the door""s position. The mercury switch suitably senses the position of the door by detecting changes in the door""s horizontal or vertical position relative to the door being either open or closed, as appropriate. Thus, depending upon where the sensor device is placed on the door (e.g. whether the device is placed closer or further away from the midpoint in the door""s total trajectory), the mercury switch may detect the degree to which the door has moved from a vertical to a horizontal position, or vice versa. In one embodiment, the mercury switch has two circuit positions, circuit open and circuit closed, and each circuit position corresponds to a particular door position. In another embodiment, the mercury switch has a number of contacts corresponding to a number of circuits which open and/or close depending upon the angle of the door in the door jam, such as open, closed, or partially open, and each position effects the transmission of a different position signal to the transceiver. When the transceiver receives a position signal from the mercury switch, the transceiver then transmits a signal corresponding to the particular position signal received from the mercury switch to the remote warning device to indicate whether the door is fully open, partially open, or closed, depending upon the position that the warning device is pre-set or programmed to detect. The remote warning device then activates the appropriate indicator on, for example, the control panel of the programmable warning device.
Various embodiments of the instant security system employ transceivers for effecting wireless, real time transmissions, such as, for example, RF transmissions, in response to preprogrammed or real time conditions. The transceiver suitably sends a predetermined signal to actuate (or de-actuate) the remote warning device and thereby permits an operator to intervene by moving the door to the predetermined position. In one embodiment, a signal from the sensor device indicating that the door is in the predetermined or preprogramed position triggers the transceiver to transmit a signal, through RF for example, to the remote warning device. In another embodiment, the sensor device can transmit a remote signal to the warning device when the door attains a preprogramed position.
In accordance with another embodiment, the system can be programmed by means of a cycled or timed determination to change the criteria which actuates the warning device. Thus, the warning device may remain deactuated during early evening daylight hours in the summer, for example, but be timed to actuate the warning device if the door remains open after dark. This can be accomplished with a timer or a photovoltaic cell. Optionally, the timer also permits a user to program a specific time, or times, of the day at which the sensor device will monitor the status or condition of the door and will transmit a signal to the warning device if the garage door is in other than a closed position.
In a further embodiment, the security system of the instant invention employs at least one remote control panel having means for actuating and/or de-actuating the door, transceiver and/or other transmitter means for communicating with the door motor, the sensor device, and the door locking mechanism, and a warning indicator for indicating whether the door is in a predetermined position. Preferably, the remote control panel contains a programmable actuator for changing the door position criteria upon which the sensor and/or the warning device is activated (or deactivated). The means for actuating the door motor can include a switch or button which, when actuated, will either open the door if it is closed or close the door if it is open or allow movement to a predetermined position.
In one embodiment, the control panel means for indicating whether the door is in a predetermined position is a light. In another embodiment, the means for indicating whether the door is in a predetermined position is a means for emitting at least one audible alarm. The audible alarm can be at least one sound or tone which is emitted by, for example, a speaker. In another embodiment, the control panel has both a light and a means for sounding at least one tone and further has a switch for selectively actuating either the light, the means for sounding at least one tone, or both. In another embodiment, the control panel has an onboard power supply, which is preferably a battery, and a low power or low battery indicator light. In another embodiment, the control panel has means for locking (or unlocking) the door and means for indicating whether the door has been locked (or unlocked). Means for locking (or unlocking) the door can include, for example, an actuator means for transmitting a signal to a remote transceiver to interrupt (or reestablish) the electrical power to the door motor or otherwise disable (enable) or disengage (engage) the automated door opener. The actuator means for locking (unlocking) the door can include a switch or button which, when actuated, transmits a signal to remotely disengage (or engage) the automated door opener. The means for indicating whether the door has been locked (or unlocked) includes an indicator light.
In another embodiment, the warning device is a key ring style or car visor style remote transmitter or transceiver device having a switch or button to actuate the door motor and another switch or button to interrupt the power supply to the door motor. A key ring style or car visor style remote transmitter device, for example, suitably includes an indicator light that may be illuminated when the door is in other than the predetermined position. The light may be turned off when the door has been returned to the predetermined position so that a user who is driving away from the house or building can know that the door has been closed.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the present invention, are given for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and various embodiments of the invention include such modifications.